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Susana Barrios
From:April Schley <avril77@aol.com>
Sent:Tuesday,
To:Public Comment
Subject:\[EXTERNAL\] Letter in Opposition to Deer Canyon SALT Development
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Hello Anaheim City Council Members,
My name is April Schley and I have been a resident of Anaheim Hills nearly 20 years, living near
Running Springs Elementary. I live on a street where multiple houses burned to the ground in 2008. It
took over one hour and a half to get to Yorba Linda (just at Village Center Drive) when we evacuated.
It was absolutely frightening as the medians were burning with large flames as we drove down Weir
Canyon and it was utter gridlock. With 2 toddlers, I had to contemplate what I would do to escape the
flames on foot as we were not moving an inch.
In 2017, I was evacuated again with many homes being destroyed in my neighborhood. I raced to
to pick up my kids and packed my car with other kids whose parents were working
and couldn't get there fast enough. Santa Ana Canyon and Weir Canyon during these evacuations
were absolutely at a standstill. It took an hour and half going just down Santa Ana Canyon from the
festival to Canyon high school - the same route these new residents would have to go as well. Now,
there are more residents and more traffic so even with the current population it would be
exponentially dangerous. To add the SALT development with its hundreds of cars is asking for a
tragedy about to happen. Especially since a lot of the "reasoning" is that residents are going to stay
put during an evacuation and that with the Know Your Way plan, they won't be allowing parents or
others back in to get their loved ones/pets. You do realize that there are so many kids home that are
old enough to stay home but are not yet drivers that are home alone after school in our community?
No parent in their right mind would not go back for their children and city leaders that communicate
this as a legit plan clearly have no grasp on the reality of these fire evacuations. And calling a
neighbor to help evacuate your loved ones is also entirely unrealistic as the phone lines were blocked
from so many making calls that I couldn't make a call.
I watched the entire Building Commission meeting and it is absolutely insane that the members would
vote in favor of this rezoning with all the residents sharing real experiences, the Fire department, the
Police department and the city staff opposing the development. I was sure common sense would
prevail so I hadn't written anything until now. In terms of the SALT development providing much
needed housing, that is a PR spin if I ever saw one. How are rents for apartments from $3,000 -
$16,000 a month helping the younger generation have the opportunity to live in Anaheim Hills? If
someone has that type of budget they can rent a nice size home, or even purchase one in Anaheim
Hills. Before the city council entertains any high-rise developments in Anaheim Hills, especially in the
Festival area/Deer Canyon area, safety must be addressed as the #1 priority. This project is putting
lives of children, elderly and families in jeopardy. I urge you to listen to your constituents, the Fire
Department and the Police Department and vote against this.
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April Schley
Anaheim Hills Resident
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